Is Big Data too big to fail?

In 2012, President Obama swept back into the White House on a second wave of populist support. His secret? A vast array of data experts. Now, with only 13 months to go until the 2015 election, the same tools are being replicated across the Atlantic as every political party in Britain are turning to their chosen data gurus to power them over the majority line.

A recent feature in the Financial Times asked ‘Big data: are we making a big mistake?’ If the deluge of headlines and political hype is anything to go by, big data is the next big thing. A vague phrase that has since become ubiquitous, a debate is occurring as to whether or not it is the electricity of the 21st century, a new kind of power that transforms everything it touches in business, government, and private life, or, as the Financial Times article detailed, “big data has arrived, but big insights have not”.

What is big data? Why should we care? How is it used? And what, if any, impact will it have on British politics?

Political Intelligence has taken an extended look at what big data means for the UK. Please click here to read our briefing.

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